Rembrandt van Rijn, Portrait of a gentleman with top hat and gloves, c. 1658

by Atelier Liesjes

From the hips up, a man with pale, peachy skin, dressed in a black suit and top hat, looks at us from a dark brown background in this vertical portrait painting. The man's body is tilted to the right, almost in profile, but he turns his head to look at us from the corners of his eyes under his raised eyebrows. He has a round nose, a thin moustache above wide, pink lips and a deep cleft in his chin. His face is fleshy under his eyes and along his jawline, and he has a slight double chin. The wide brim of his tall black hat casts a shadow over his eyes. Shoulder-length, brown, curly hair falls to a wide, lace-trimmed, bright white collar, which lies flat across his chest and shoulders. Light shimmers from his black coat suggest a sheen. Wide white, disc-shaped cuffs encircle his wrists over tufts of voluminous white sleeves that gather on his forearms. A black velvet cape hangs from the shoulder closer to us and across his waist. He points with his right arm to the right, closer to us. The beige-brown glove or pair of gloves he holds in his other hand at his far hip is cut off by the underside of the canvas.

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (Leiden, 15 July 1606 - Amsterdam, 4 October 1669) was a Dutch painter, etcher and draughtsman. He is widely considered one of the greatest painters and etchers in European art, and the most important Dutch master of the 17th century. His work belongs to the Baroque period and is visibly influenced by Caravaggism. His remarkable mastery of the play of light and dark, often using sharp contrasts (chiaroscuro) to draw the viewer into the scene, led to vivid scenes full of drama.